This invention relates generally to a paint roller frame and plastic cage assembly including a sliding lock for securely retaining a roller cover in place on the cage assembly during use while allowing the roller cover to be quickly and easily removed from the cage assembly for ease of cleaning and replacement as desired.
It is generally known from U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,345,648 and 5,490,303, assigned to the same assignee as the present application, to provide a plastic cage assembly for a paint roller frame that allows for easy assembly and removal of a roller cover from the cage assembly and yet positively retains the roller cover in place on the cage assembly during use.
However, it would be desirable to provide a plastic cage assembly for a paint roller frame especially for the consumer market that has most of the advantages of such previous known plastic cage assembly but includes fewer, less expensive parts, making it less expensive to manufacture.
The present invention relates to a paint roller frame and plastic cage assembly of simplified construction that securely retains the roller cover on the cage assembly during use and allows for easy assembly and removal of the roller cover from the cage assembly as needed.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the plastic cage assembly includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced, longitudinally extending plastic support rails joined together at their ends by end caps and at a plurality of axially spaced locations intermediate their ends by one or more partitions or walls that also aid in supporting the roller cover when inserted over the cage assembly.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the inboard end cap and intermediate partitions or walls have coaxially aligned holes extending therethrough that closely slidably receive the shaft portion of the roller frame for rotatably supporting the cage assembly on the shaft portion.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the outboard end of the roller frame shaft is supported by an annular hub assembly axially inwardly of the outboard end cap, whereby the outboard end cap may be completely closed to better prevent paint and the like from getting inside the roller cover through the outboard end cap.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the cage assembly is mounted for limited axial movement in opposite directions on the roller frame shaft, which causes cam members on radial inner walls of radially movable portions of the cage assembly to move into and out of engagement with an outer annular surface on the hub assembly, causing the radially movable portions of the cage assembly to move into and out of frictional engagement with the inner wall of a roller cover inserted over the cage assembly.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the cam members on the inner walls of the radially movable portions have radially inwardly sloping walls to make it easy for the cam members to ride up and down the annular hub surface, and axial walls at the radial innermost ends of the sloping walls that limit the extent of radial outward movement of the radially movable portions into frictional engagement with the inner wall of the roller cover when the annular hub surface is in contact with the axial walls.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, radiused shoulders may be provided at the juncture between the sloping walls of the cam surfaces and the associated axial walls to resist axial movement of the cage assembly from a roller cover locking position to a roller cover unlocking position.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, axially spaced stops on the plastic cage assembly limit the extent of axial movement of the cage assembly in opposite directions relative to the roller frame shaft between the roller cover locking and unlocking positions.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the stops are formed by the outboard end cap or stop shoulders on the cam surfaces and the outboard-most partition or wall intermediate the ends of the plastic rails which are respectively engaged by opposite ends of the hub assembly during axial movement of the cage assembly in opposite directions between the roller cover locking and unlocking positions.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a roller cover is frictionally retained on the cage assembly after the roller cover has been inserted completely over the cage assembly and up against a radially outwardly extending flange on the inboard-most end of the inboard end cap by pressing on the outboard end cap to cause the cage assembly to move axially inwardly relative to the roller frame shaft which forces the cam surfaces on the radially movable portions of the cage assembly up over the annular hub surface thus causing the radially movable portions to move radially outwardly into frictional engagement with the inner wall of the roller cover.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the roller cover is easily released from the cage assembly either by pressing on the inboard end cap or by rapping the handle portion of the roller frame on the edge of a bucket or trash can to cause the cage assembly to move axially outwardly relative to the roller frame shaft to disengage the cam surfaces on the radially movable portions of the cage assembly from the annular hub surface.
These and other objects, advantages, features and aspects of the present invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds.
To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention, then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description and the annexed drawings setting forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention, these being indicative, however, of but several of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed.